Help me defend a pass. (My players go away!)

[Narfellus]

It sounds like a really fun scenario, from both the players and DM's point of view. They are both tactically weighed against defeating the other, which for me has always been the very best fights, when the PC's have to outthink/strategize me. This scenario could be really easy or really hard, for many of the reasons mentioned above. Trap-door trolls, hidden bear-pits, flaming trebuchets...a DM could unintenionally make it too hard just by trying to cover all the bases. On the other hand, PC's with access to magic tricks or the enemy's Achille's Heel (a burst dam for example) could make the encounter easier than expected.

 

[Rel]

ah, but do the PCs know that the orcs are 50 strong, with a couple of ogres & a troll?

Whether the Druid has access to the Feathers spell or not, I'd expect any assault to be preceeded by aerial recon by the Druid in bird form. If the orcs are specifically expecting assault by the PC's and have some ideas of their capabilities then I'd expect them to keep a sharp eye out for birds flying over their fortfications and either get under cover or whip out the True Strike ballista trick.

 

[Davek]

A 1/4 mile is a lot of ground for 50 orcs to defend. I would have those orcs set up spotters at the mouth of the pass, and when someone approaches determine if they can stop them. Have them set up ambushes, from cover. If the party is not prepared, 50 orcs should be a big obstacle.

If you want more static defenses, dig holes, lots of holes. Holes just big enough for feet or hooves to stepinto, about a foot deep. This will slow down anyone crossing that terrain, making them vulnerable to ranged weapons. Spiked pit traps would work well too.

 

[Nareau]

The druid could be really nasty here, especially if he's got the feat that allows him to cast spells while wildshaped:
Just looking at the druid's spell list:
Air walk can get the horse and rider to pass.
Spike stones, in conjunction with some good luring, can be used to slow down/kill/disable a huge part of the opposing army
Water Breathing can get the rest of the party by (although the threat of giant turtles exists...could the PC's just walk on by, really close to shore?)
Scrying can get them detailed info on their enemies.
Heck, even a few days worth of airstrikes (wildshape into a hawk, Flamestrike any groups of 4 or more) would quickly diminish their numbers and morale.

If I were running this encounter, I'd do one of two things: resign myself to the fact that the PC's will figure out a way to totally bypass the whole thing (making it "scenery" instead of "encounter"), or I'd trick/force them to meet it head-on. The second option sounds like more fun.

Unfortunately, the orcs probably don't want to invite attacks (as that would be foolish). Instead, they're going to make themselves look as tough as possible to prevent attacks. But you can use that to your advantage: Have the orcs use some of the aforementioned tricks to make themselves look really tough...but have them do it rather poorly. So when the PC's investigate, they'll quickly realize that the orcs aren't nearly as numerous or dangerous as they first appeared. Which will lure the PC's into a false sense of security. Making them more likely to attack, and have a really good fight.

Or just come up with some damsel-in-distress/orb of evil mightiness/hijacked cheesecake truck that they need to retrieve from within the orcs' stronghold.

Spider

 

[azmodean]

Here's a trick, set up a pallisade staffed by archers(ballista, catapults, whatever), and out in the archer's "sweet spot" (the place where their distance penalties become manageable) have a disguised trench with melee opponents who will pop out and perform hit and run attacks on an approaching force, to keep them bogged down in the archer's kill zone as long as possible.

 

[Conaill]

Do the Orcs know they are holding the area against the party specifically? It looks like they are tasked with holding it from anybody that passes and the PCs just happen to be intersecting with this goal.

Excellent point. Perhaps even more importantly: do the orcs know how much time they have to get ready?

If they're just fortifying the pass against a possible attack by unknown forces in the possibly near future, it seems unlikely they will be all ready and waiting after a measly 6 days. Depending on what force they are expecting, they may be in the middle of erecting a 20' tall pallisade, with only a small section already standing, the rest of the pass protected only by a shallow ditch and wooden stakes. Or they may be dug in in individual foxholes, if they were expecting a small party within the next couple of days.

 

[Crass]

Are you trying to SLOW or STOP the PCs? Something a little out of left field... set up a tollway (What alignment are the PCs, BTW?)

You've had 6 days, you have a workforce. A quick palisade, some shacks/ramshackle houses, a few orc kids and wives, a boomgate where the toll is to be paid, just add water - instant orc town! Needs revenue, so what better place to have a tollway? Make the toll something really exorbitant/usury, such as - say, 80% of the PCs' combined gold/assets. If they refuse to pay, the "taxman" - the orc LT - calls his assistants (ogres/trolls).

If they still don't pay, ambush the party. It sounds like you'd want to melee with this group, in an urban environment, as you have a mounted fighter to contend with plus a druid and a wilderness rogue (although this will play right into the barbarian's hands). Have the bulk of your 50 orcs in the buildings beside the tollgate and wait for the signal to attack, then rush the party in the first round. About 30 melee guys and 20 archers should hurt a bit in the first round.

Well, I'm off to have my medication now, before the guys in white show up with the funny jacket, again

 

[painandgreed]

I just don't see it. With so few troops and such a large distance to cover, I can't really see trying to wall off the pass and defend it. It'll be obvious to the party, probalby at a distance and they'll come up with some way to get around it, sneak past it, or assault it on their own terms. You could dig a ditch and mound with wall, towers and siege equipment. More shallow pits will slow down their movement and prevent charges but it might not be enough. You'll have to defend the entrie length of the wall somewhat which is 11 full round runs long. If you put too few in any given spot, they might sneak up and get through. Spread out equally and you probably won't get everybody against the party on the wrong side of the wall enmasse. If you had severla hundred orcs, it would probably be worth doing.

With that few orcs, I'd probably hide and lay a trap. Send out sneaky scouts so you can see them coming first and hide. Follow them and wait for them to camp and for the fighter types to rest (and hopefully be out of armor). Send in harrassing missle fire to wake them up and draw them out. If they give chase (because it's only a few orcs) catch them in a trap with more archers to either side and bring in the ogres to grapple mages and trolls to fight fighers while orcs give support. Have another group follow up into their camp from the other direction and kill anybody/thing left behind and steal food and supplies (in case the first attack fails). If the attack goes poorly, retreat. Your troops are fresh and good at traveling in the night where the party has probably put in their 8 hours marching and would be risking forced march rules if they followed. If they follow, regroup and attack every couple of hours if possible. If they go back to their camp, regroup and go harrass them with more missle fire. Keep them up and from getting spells or resting and then attack again later.

The other choice is to simply build a nice little fort and hope that when the party sees "an orc fort with a dozen orcs manning it" that they decide to attack it.

 

[Roman]

This sounds like great fun , but I think the orcs stand virtually no chance of stopping the PCs. They only have 6 days to construct fortifications, which would be enough for a basic pallisade and some other basic defenses, but not a powerful fortification with an elaborate network of traps and deceptions as some have suggested (of course, for game purposes you might wish to let them do this anyway, but it does not sound like that's the approach to the game you wish to take). The front the orcs have to defend is 1/4 mile wide at its narrowest. That is a distance of 1,320 feet. That in itself would be bad enough, since the orcs would be spread out over this area, while the PCs can decide where to punch through (and I am assuming they won't use 'tricks' to bypass the orcs [flying, going around, swimming around, etc.,] which they most likely will use), but the orcs will not be able to deploy all 50 men at any one time unless they expect a battle to take place precisely at that time. A sustainable deployment is going to be at most about 15 (and most likely fewer) orcs on guard duty at a given time with the remainder of the orcs resting, sleeping, etc. Given the distance accross the front, by the time they sound the alarm for reinforcements and by the time the remaining orcs arrive the PCs will be gone, so about 15 orcs is all they will have to face (well not even that, since the orcs will be spread out over the front and not all of these orcs will get to the breach point in time to intercept the PCs - remember that the orcs will have to be spread 90 feet apart to cover the entire distance and if you have some of orcs at the gate they will be spread even thinner than this elsewhere). The PCs will almost certainly scout out the orc camp beforehand and attack at the weakest and least defended point, they will be 'buffed-up' and they will almost surely attack at night, when their approach is likely to remain undetected until they reach the orc line itself at which point any alarm will come too late if it even comes at all. On the other hand, none of the above can be a good thing - the PCs will have a heroic tale to tell of how they crossed an impenetrable orcish line...

As a cautionary note, several sessions ago my party of about level 7 at the time wiped out a unit of about 100 orcs plus the orcish leader (technically speaking the remaining orcs fled after the party killed about 85 orcs and their leader. The orcs ambushed the party and were in an advantageous position being able to attack at a time of their choosing with surprise, shoot from concealment and concentrate mass, while managing to split the party into three parts, but it still was a slaughter of the orcs with the party clearly winning the day - only one PC came close to dying after some crits with a greataxe (nasty). I am saying this because the party was at a similar level as your PCs, though the party had 7 members and you only have 4, so the results may differ.

 

[alsih2o]

Excellent point. Perhaps even more importantly: do the orcs know how much time they have to get ready?

.

No. They have no idea who the PC's are, or when they might return, or even where they are. They are simply here to stop anyone form sneaking up behind the amassing army on the plains.